1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to billing systems and, more particularly, to a secure physical billing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current movie distribution offerings fall into two primary categories: PayTV and Home Video. PayTV solutions encompass all solutions where electronic data is transmitted to or from a customer's home. This includes, for example, satellite and cable pay-per-view, Internet-based video downloads and streams, cable video-on-demand (VOD) systems, and other electronic delivery methods that require any form of data transmission to or from inside the customer's home to exhibit or purchase the exhibition of the content. Home Video solutions encompass all physical delivery methods including rental houses, retail, and any other physical delivery method. In this industry, there are requirements that govern how content is released and when content is released, and these requirements dictate which form of delivery can be used with the PayTV solutions and the Home Video solutions.
Technology has afforded some innovative ways to distribute content to consumers. However, by their very nature, many of these distribution methods fall into the PayTV solutions category by virtue of the fact that they all require some form of electronic data transmission to or from the customer's home to exhibit and/or pay for those exhibitions. As a result, these solutions are subject to the rules and restrictions set up by the movie studios, e.g., those that delay the availability of new releases for PayTV.
On the other hand, Home Video solutions, such as rental houses and retail, are not subject to many of these rules and restrictions. Home Video solutions typically offer new releases soon after the material is made available. However, Home Video solutions lack the on-demand convenience of the PayTV solutions.
Some current technologies enable physical content to be delivered securely to the home, for example, via locked CDs or DVDs. However, these solutions typically still require electronic transmission to unlock or pay for content, which results in these technologies being classified as a PayTV services as well, even if the content is physically delivered to the customer's home.